Convenience Matters

According to this independent operator, "your net worth is your network" and connecting with other entrepreneurs is the best way to grow your business. Hear tips to attract and retain employees and beat your competition from 3-store convenience retailer, Bassem Nowyhed.

Hosted by:

Jeff Lenard, VP Strategic Industry Initiatives, NACS and Carolyn Schnare, Director Strategic Initiatives, NACS

About our Guest:

Bassem Nowyhed, Convenience Store Franchise Owner and Founder of Invig Consulting

Bassem Nowyhed has more than a decade of experience in convenience store management and the Food & Beverage industry. As a forward thinker and natural networker, Bassem's brought numerous innovations to the multiple convenience store franchise locations he owns in California.

Innovation is important but it must be done with purpose and intention and with leadership to lead it and a culture to accept it. How do you take innovation from the C-suite to the C-store?

Related Links:

Leapfrogging

Hosted by:

Jeff Lenard, VP Strategic Industry Initiatives, NACS and Chris Blasinsky, Content Strategist, NACS

About our Guest:

Soren Kaplan, Managing Principal, InnovationPoint

Soren Kaplan is the bestselling and award winning author of Leapfrogging and The Invisible Advantage, an Affiliate at the Center for Effective Organizations at USC's Marshall School of Business, a writer for Fast Company and Inc. Magazine, a globally recognized keynote speaker, the Founder of InnovationPoint and Co-founder of Praxie. He holds Master's and Ph.D. degrees in Organizational Psychology, resides in the San Francisco Bay Area, and possesses dual US-French citizenship.

According to NACS research, 2021 is shaping up to be a good year for c-store sales. But, it depends whether you compare sales to 2019 or 2020, what category you're looking at, where you live and whether trends stay or go.

Related Links:

NACS Research NACS State of the Industry Report NACS | CSX

Hosted by:

Donovan Woods, Director of Operations, Fuels Institute and Chris Blasinsky, Content Strategist, NACS

About our Guest:

Chris Rapanick, Director, Business Development, NACS | CSX, LLC

Christopher Rapanick is the Director of Business Development for NACS | CSX, LLC. With more than 18 years of experience in the wholesale, B2B and retail sales environment, Chris is an expert in analyzing retail sales and has been an integral part of data collection for CSX and NACS State of the Industry for many years.

Convenience store sales of fresh and prepackaged foodservice items have grown exponentially in the last decade. Find out what convenient options prevailed during the pandemic and are expected to propel growth into the future.

Related Links:

Core-Mark website

Hosted by:

Carolyn Schnare, Director Strategic Initiatives, NACS and Jeff Lenard, VP Strategic Industry Initiatives, NACS

About our Guest:

Jac Moskalik, Corporate Director of Fresh & Foodservice, Core-Mark International

Jac Moskalik is the Corporate Director of Fresh and Foodservice for Core-Mark International. Jac has over 20 years of experience in marketing, sales and operations within the food industry, primarily fresh and food service. Prior to joining Core-Mark, Jac was the Senior Director of Independent Fresh at KeHE Distributors and held roles in Category Management for Bakery, Fresh, and Foodservice at Brookshire Grocery Company, Meijer and Minyard Food Stores.

Sponsored by: Core-Mark International

Most convenience retailers have food safety processes and training in place, many also find that that a lack of consistency and agreement among employees is driving an increased focus on food safety culture.

Related Links:

Cultivate Food Safety website NACS Magazine, October 2020 "Growing a Culture of Food Safety" NACS Magazine, July 2017 "Protecting Your Food Brand" NACS Food Safety Resources

Hosted by:

Chris Blasinsky, Content Strategist, NACS and Jeff Lenard, VP Strategic Industry Initiatives, NACS

About our Guest:

Lone Jespersen, Founder, Cultivate

Lone Jespersen is an entrepreneur, high-level strategist, food safety expert & visionary dedicated to helping food manufacturers deliver safe and quality food through culture-driven intervention. She has dedicated the last 15 years of her life to bettering food manufacturing operations and studying how culture affects food safety performance. Lone holds a Master in Mechanical Engineering from Syd Dansk University in Denmark, a Master of Food Science from the University of Guelph in Canada, and a Ph.D. on Culture Enabled Food Safety. She also serves as chair of Food Safety Culture for the GFSI technical working group dedicated to characterizing and quantifying food safety culture across the global food industry from farm to fork.

Retail competition for share of customer dollars has never been so great as the lines between channels continue to blur. Seamless digital experiences earn a customer's loyalty - no matter how, where and when they shop.

Related Links:

Stuzo Website NACS Daily "Rewards Programs Boost Store Transactions"

Hosted by:

Carolyn Schnare, Director Strategic Initiatives, NACS and Donovan Woods, Director of Operations, Fuels Institute

About our Guest:

Aaron McLean, Chief Marketing Officer, Stuzo

As Stuzo's Chief Marketing Officer, Aaron leads the company's marketing department, supports go-to-market efforts, and leads media relations, analyst relations, and product marketing. Aaron is also a serial technology entrepreneur, a lifelong musician / composer, and co-founder and former Board Member of Philly Startup Leaders.

24/7 Day spotlights the convenience retail industry's important role in supporting the communities served and where convenience stores can show these frontline workers they care in small, tangible ways. Find out how to get involved on July 24th at 247Day.org.

Related Links:

24/7 Day NACS Foundation Homepage

Hosted by:

Jeff Lenard, VP Strategic Industry Initiatives, NACS

About our Guests:

Stephanie Sikorski, Executive Director, NACS Foundation

Stephanie Sikorski is VP of Marketing and Director of the NACS Foundation for NACS. In this role, she leads the development of integrated marketing strategies and executes campaigns to effectively grow the organization's brand. In marketing NACS programs, products, and events, her focus is centered on educating, engaging stakeholders and activating supporters—and those that strive to influence social behaviors—to benefit target audiences and general society/industry.

Lindsay Buchanan-Puig, Marketing Coordinator, NACS

Lindsay Buchanan-Puig is the Marketing Coordinator for NACS and is responsible for executing NACS Foundation campaigns, including the scholarship and internship programs, and the national 24/7 Day campaign. Additionally in her marketing role, Lindsay implements integrated print and digital campaigns to promote NACS events and offerings including the Convenience Matters podcast. Lindsay graduated from Middle Tennessee State University with a Bachelor's Degree in Journalism.

A Renewable Identification Number, aka a RIN, is a credit that gets attached to every renewable fuel gallon that gets produced in the United States. In this episode, we're going to talk about renewable fuels, what's going on with the prices of RINs, how they relate to EVs and fuel demand.

Related Links:

RIN Alliance Fuels Institute Report "Biomass-Based Diesel: A Market and Performance Analysis NACS Magazine Article "Pass or Fail" September 2019

Hosted by:

John Eichberger, Executive Director, Fuels Institute and Jeff Lenard, VP Strategic Industry Initiatives, NACS

About our Guest:

Reo Menning, President & CEO, RINAlliance

Reo Menning serves as President & CEO of RINAlliance in Urbandale, Iowa. RINAlliance provides a software platform and expertise to help companies comply with the U.S. Renewable Fuel Standard. In addition to her direct experience with RINAlliance, Menning improved the financial position, diversified services and invested in future growth as the top executive for Metro Waste Authority in Des Moines and the Silicones Environmental, Health and Safety Council in Washington, D.C.

AAA forecasts 34.4 million Americans will travel by car for the 2021 Memorial Day holiday weekend. How can convenience retailers prepare travelers for their safe return to the road?

Related Links:

AAA AAA Newsroom

Hosted by:

Jeff Lenard, VP Strategic Industry Initiatives, NACS and Carolyn Schnare, Director Strategic Initiatives, NACS

About our Guest:

Andrew Gross, Public Relations Manager, AAA National

Andrew manages media relations for AAA's Foundation for Traffic Safety and Public Affairs, including communications and PR campaigns. He joined AAA in January 2020 after a three-decade career in journalism, most of which as a multiple Emmy-winning producer for NBC News in Washington, DC. While with NBC, Andrew covered a wide range of topics, including the economy, war, terrorism, politics, and breaking news. Before NBC, he worked at ABC News and the Tampa Tribune. Andrew holds a Master's degree in Journalism from the University of Michigan and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Grinnell College. Andrew lives in Arlington, Virginia, and works in Washington, DC.

The U.S. charging infrastructure is ramping up to keep up with EV owner demand. This innovative solution put charging in the hands of car owners...conveniently, of course.

Related Links:

Spark Charge Fuels Institute EV Market Regulatory Report Carpool Chats Episode #23: Charging on the Run

Hosted by:

Donovan Woods, Director of Operations, Fuels Institute and Jeff Lenard, VP Strategic Industry Initiatives, NACS

About our Guest:

Joshua Aviv, Founder/CEO, SparkCharge

Joshua is a certified Data Scientist and the Founder & CEO of SparkCharge. His experience in entrepreneurship and startups spans over 6 years and he is a dynamic figure in the cleantech community. Joshua is also the most recent winner of the world's largest pitch competition, 43North. Joshua holds a B.A. in Economics and a Masters Degree in Information Management and Data Science from Syracuse University.